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Does Denying The Obligation Of Namaz (salah) Make Someone Kafir?
Assalamu Alaikum
We Muslims firmly believe that namaz is one of the 5 pillars of Islam. Even those who don’t pray regularly don’t deny its obligation. However, if I’m not wrong, there are some groups that call themselves Muslim but deny the obligation of salah. I know Ghamidi Sahab avoids calling people kafir, but here I’m not asking about people, but beliefs. Is believing that namaz/salah isn’t obligatory a kufriyah belief?
Thank you
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2 Replies
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Does Denying The Obligation Of Namaz (salah) Make Someone Kafir?
updated 3 months, 2 weeks ago
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If one states that he knows that Salah is made obligatory, but he refuses to accept it, it is obviously kufr. But if one states that Salah was not made obligatory, and he misunderstood something, it is not kufr.
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Yes — according to the consensus (ijmāʿ) of scholars, denying the obligation of Salah (prayer) takes a person out of the fold of Islam, because it is a clear and established command from Allah ﷻ and His Messenger ﷺ.
📖 Evidence from the Qur’an and Sunnah
Allah ﷻ says:
“Indeed, prayer has been decreed upon the believers a decree of specified times.” (Surah An-Nisa, 4:103)
And the Prophet ﷺ said:
“The covenant that distinguishes between us and them (the disbelievers) is the prayer; whoever abandons it has disbelieved.” (Tirmidhi, Ibn Majah)
💡 Important Distinction
If a person denies that Salah is obligatory — claiming it is not required — this is kufr (disbelief) because it rejects something known by necessity in Islam.
However, if a person believes Salah is obligatory but neglects it out of laziness or weakness, most scholars say they are still Muslim but committing a major sin, while some scholars view persistent neglect as disbelief.
🌿 In Summary
Denying the obligation of Salah = disbelief (kufr).
Neglecting it out of laziness = grave sin, but not necessarily kufr according to the majority.
Muslims should repent, return to prayer, and seek Allah’s mercy — for Salah is the pillar of the religion and the first act to be accounted for on the Day of Judgment.
“Between a person and disbelief is abandoning the prayer.” – (Sahih Muslim)
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